InquisIT: Disrupting the Norm in Employee Wellness
By: Christine Bean
We recently caught up with Mike McDermott, President of InquisIT, to learn more about their delicious workplace wellness benefit of offering free MightyMeals lunches to all employees, keeping their staff healthy, satisfied, and motivated!
How did InquisIT get its start?
Mike: At InquisIT, we partner with the government as the federal marketplace’s “go-to” company in implementing strategic and innovative technology solutions. I was brought into the company to help mature the business and make some key culture changes within our already well-established foundation of employee care. I’m a big believer in good commercial business strategies, as well as thinking of employees and their needs as people, versus focusing exclusively on their career. The adage, “It’s not personal, it’s just business,” is garbage. I believe that the best businesses are those in which you feel connected.
What makes InquisIT unique?
Mike: InquisIT is committed to changing the status quo. Our taglines, “Disrupt the Norm,” and “Transforming the Business of Government,” embody the fact that we are truly trying to change an industry. We have all heard the joke, “80% is good enough for government,” and we see our friends bounce from company to company feeling there is little change within any organization around the beltway. I firmly believe that this is something that needs to change! This is our tax money at work, and these agencies’ missions affect the American public. There is a serious trend toward the middle; mediocrity is a widely accepted status and we refuse to toe that line. At InquisIT, we believe we can be the catalyst to this change by following a few important principles that we hire-on and fire-on defined in our Credo. We simply take good business principles and we bring them into the federal space. We have a unique work environment, and it is not uncommon to see employees wearing jeans with a sport coat and sneakers. We focus on performance and results. Another unique thing I do, personally, are my “Truck Talks” on LinkedIn. I post a video once or twice each week from my truck, and it is just another way for us to connect with our customers on a more personal level.
How did you get connected to MightyMeals?
Mike: I believe physical health is incredibly important and stay fit. As a former Marine, rugby player, and amateur bodybuilder I actually discovered MightyMeals, while doing a lot of CrossFit and focusing on eating healthy. There are not many healthy food options near our office building, and we understand everyone’s lives are busy in addition to the level of expectations we have in creating a thriving and fast-growing organization. I started to use MightyMeals personally and was hooked; loved the food but also loved that they were a local start-up. I contacted MightyMeals’ founder Dan Graziano out of the blue to inquire about meals for our employees, and the rest is history. They have been fantastic to work with for the past year or so, and our employees are happily eating a healthy and delicious lunch every day. I believe in having a healthy workforce; when you are taking care of people, it’s not about giving them a couple of decent benefits, it’s about taking care of them as holistically as possible.
How does MightyMeals benefit your employees?
Mike: InquisIT buys all of the meals to serve as lunches for our employees here at our headquarters. It is a very seamless process with MightyMeals; we purchase a set number of meals per week, and they invoice us monthly. We buy about 50-60 meals per week; this way if there are leftovers available each week, we freeze them and encourage employees to take them home for dinners. Most office wellness programs are BS, but we feel that if you worry about what people eat and help facilitate movement and exercise, then it will improve the wellness of your workforce overall. Our employees love that lunch is free and available for them without having to leave the office. Younger employees who are strapped for cash especially feel that this is a nice perk. MightyMeals gives them a daily healthy food option and the ability to get together in the office, eat lunch, and socialize as a break in the day. Most days you will find several people with MightyMeals in our kitchen talking and laughing together at lunch. We believe that in order to accomplish our goals as an organization, we need to have a “community feel” and be healthy in mind and body.
What is your favorite MightyMeals dish?
Mike: I’m a big fan of the Chicken Fajita Bowl!
About Mike McDermott: Mike McDermott serves as President of InquisIT and Managing Member of Leadership Ignited. He coaches leaders, organizations, and is responsible for advancing InquisIT by defining corporate strategy and being the driving force behind marketing and contract operations. In his first 12 months with InquisIT, Mr. McDermott substantially increased profitability and won over $28 Million in new contracts growing the company by nearly 40%. In three years he has led over $65 Million in total sales.
Prior to Leadership Ignited and InquisIT, Mr. McDermott was CEO of ATA LLC, a data analytics, program, and intelligence support firm. During his tenure there, Mr. McDermott achieved 20% growth as well as attained new GSA schedules positioning the company to propose on increased federal opportunities.
Prior to ATA, Mr. McDermott was President of Phacil. There, Mr. McDermott started as the 4th employee and left over 11 years later with the title of President and revenues of nearly $150 Million. His responsibilities spanned oversight of headquarter operations, contract operations, and Business Development and Marketing. Mr. McDermott was an instrumental part of the team in Phacil becoming one of the fastest growing and most profitable government contracting firms.
Mr. McDermott had multiple technical and program management roles prior to executive leadership to include with Titan Systems, Carley Corporation, and Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC). Mr. McDermott was an enlisted Marine working in Signals Intelligence Communications and Security with tours in Guantanamo Bay, Camp Lejeune and Headquarters Marine Corps.
In his leisure time, Mike is a family man, competitive bodybuilder, and tours the country on motorcycles.
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Are you interested in incorporating MightyMeals into your workplace wellness program? Shoot us an email at info@eatmightymeals.com to learn more!